Event

"[Popi is] one of the warmest, funniest, most original and most contagious screen comedies in years," Howard Thompson, New York Times, May 28, 1969"[Popi is] insidious," Vincent Canby, New York Times, June 15, 1969

Abraham is a Puerto Rican widower raising two boys in Spanish Harlem, where poverty is so great that working three jobs still isn't enough to be more than just one of the working poor. Desperate to provide a better life for his boys, Abraham gets his Latin American hustle on and comes up with a scam that could set them up for life: all it needs is a little social engineering, some more research, a lot of media hacking, and absolute attention to detail. Missing a couple of those details endangers Abraham's family in this underrated and unexpectedly controversial classic by Arthur Hiller, director of The Out-of-Towners, Love Story, Plaza Suite and The In-Laws.

"Aimed squarely at a Latino audience Instructions Not Included nonetheless speaks to universal themes about love, fear, parenthood and death," Annlee Ellingson, Los Angeles Times"The tonal shift isn't as off-putting as it probably sounds. That's due in part to Derbez's going back and forth from comedy to drama comfortably as both director and actor," Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

Mexican superstar Derbez makes his directorial debut starring as Valentin, an Acapulco playboy who loves hooking up with all the tourist girls looking for some romantic adventure. That all changes when Valentin unexpectedly meets the one girl he can't love and leave: his infant daughter, Maggie. After six years of raising Maggie in a happy and loving home, Valentin's past comes back to haunt him when he's forced to prove that he's a fit parent in order to retain custody of his daughter.

Location

The Anthology Film Archives(View)
32 Second Avenue
New York City, NY 10003
United States